UN chief: parties to conflict suspected of sexual violence

UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says 46 parties to conflict are "credibly suspected" of committing rape or other forms of sexual violence in 2016 including seven designated as "terrorist groups" for links with the Islamic State extremist group and al-Qaida.

The list was included in a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Thursday. It includes mainly opposition and rebel groups from nine countries but also government military and police forces in Congo, Somalia and South Sudan and armed forces in Sudan and Syria. Also on the list is Boko Haram, which operates in Nigeria and neighboring countries.

The report says sexual violence as a war tactic was widespread in 2016 with rapes allegedly committed by several parties to conflicts, mostly along with other crimes from killings to looting and forced displacement.